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Communications

Airports [time series]

14 total, 13 usable; 12 with permanent-surface runways; none with runways over 3,659 m; 1 with runways 2,440-3,659 m; 7 with runways 1,220-2,439 m

Civil air [time series]

8 major transport (including 1 leased)

Roadways (Highways) [time series]

66,176 km total (1985); 24,300 km paved (mostly bituminous treated), 28,916 km crushed stone or gravel, 12,960 km improved earth or unimproved earth; several thousand km of mostly unmotorable tracks

Waterways (Inland waterways) [time series]

430 km; navigable by shallow-draft craft

Merchant marine [time series]

40 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 258,923 GRT/334,702 DWT; includes 22 cargo, 8 refrigerated cargo, 4 container, 1 livestock carrier, 2 petroleum, oils, and lubricants (POL) tanker, 3 bulk

Pipelines [time series]

crude and refined products, 62 km (1987)

Ports [time series]

Colombo, Trincomalee

Railways (Railroads) [time series]

1,868 km total (1985); all 1.868-meter broad gauge; 102 km double track; no electrification; government owned

Telecommunication systems (Telecommunications) [time series]

good international service; 109,900 telephones (1982); stations--12 AM, 5 FM, 1 TV; submarine cables extend to Indonesia, Djibouti, India; 2 Indian Ocean INTELSAT earth stations

Defense Forces

Military and security forces (Branches) [time series]

Army, Air Force, Navy, Police Force, Special Police Task Force, National Auxiliary Force

Military expenditures (Defense expenditures) [time series]

5% of GDP, or $300 million (1989 est.)

Military manpower [time series]

males 15-49, 4,568,648; 3,574,637 fit for military service; 177,610 reach military age (18) annually

Economy

Agricultural products (Agriculture) [time series]

accounts for 25% of GDP and nearly half of labor force; most important staple crop is paddy rice; other field crops--sugarcane, grains, pulses, oilseeds, roots, spices; cash crops--tea, rubber, coconuts; animal products--milk, eggs, hides, meat; not self-sufficient in rice production

Aid [time series]

US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-88), $932 million; Western (non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1980-87), $4.3 billion; OPEC bilateral aid (1979-89), $169 million; Communist countries (1970-88), $369 million

Budget [time series]

revenues $1.5 billion; expenditures $2.3 billion, including capital expenditures of $0.7 billion (1989)

Exchange rates (Currency) [time series]

Sri Lankan rupee (plural--rupees); 1 Sri Lankan rupee (SLRe) = 100 cents

Electricity [time series]

1,300,000 kW capacity; 4,200 million kWh produced, 250 kWh per capita (1989)

Exchange rates [time series]

Sri Lankan rupees (SLRs) per US$1--40.000 (January 1990), 36.047 (1989), 31.807 (1988), 29.445 (1987), 28.017 (1986), 27.163 (1985)

Exports [time series]

$1.5 billion (f.o.b., 1988); commodities--tea, textiles and garments, petroleum products, coconut, rubber, agricultural products, gems and jewelry, marine products; partners--US 26%, Egypt, Iraq, UK, FRG, Singapore, Japan

Debt - external (External debt) [time series]

$5.6 billion (1989)

Fiscal year [time series]

calendar year

Real GDP (purchasing power parity) (GDP) [time series]

$6.1 billion, per capita $370; real growth rate 2.7% (1988)

Imports [time series]

$2.3 billion (c.i.f., 1988); commodities--petroleum, machinery and equipment, textiles and textile materials, wheat, transportation equipment, electrical machinery, sugar, rice; partners--Japan, Saudi Arabia, US 5.6%, India, Singapore, FRG, UK, Iran

Industrial production growth rate (Industrial production) [time series]

growth rate 5% (1988)

Industries [time series]

processing of rubber, tea, coconuts, and other agricultural commodities; cement, petroleum refining, textiles, tobacco, clothing

Inflation rate (consumer prices) [time series]

15% (1988)

Economic overview (Overview) [time series]

Agriculture, forestry, and fishing dominate the economy, employing about half of the labor force and accounting for about 25% of GDP. The plantation crops of tea, rubber, and coconuts provide about 50% of export earnings and almost 20% of budgetary revenues. The economy has been plagued by high rates of unemployment since the late 1970s.

Unemployment rate [time series]

20% (1988 est.)

Geography

Climate [time series]

tropical; monsoonal; northeast monsoon (December to March); southwest monsoon (June to October)

Coastline [time series]

1,340 km

Area - comparative (Comparative area) [time series]

slightly larger than West Virginia

Contiguous zone [time series]

24 nm;

Continental shelf [time series]

edge of continental margin or 200 nm;

Environment - current issues (Environment) [time series]

occasional cyclones, tornados; deforestation; soil erosion

Extended economic zone [time series]

200 nm;

Land boundaries [time series]

none

Land use [time series]

16% arable land; 17% permanent crops; 7% meadows and pastures; 37% forest and woodland; 23% other; includes 8% irrigated

Natural resources [time series]

limestone, graphite, mineral sands, gems, phosphates, clay

Note [time series]

only 29 km from India across the Palk Strait; near major Indian Ocean sea lanes

Terrain [time series]

mostly low, flat to rolling plain; mountains in south-central interior

Maritime claims (Territorial sea) [time series]

12 nm

Area (Total area) [time series]

65,610 km2; land area: 64,740 km2

Government

Administrative divisions [time series]

24 districts; Amparai, Anuradhapura, Badulla, Batticaloa, Colombo, Galle, Gampaha, Hambantota, Jaffna, Kalutara, Kandy, Kegalla, Kurunegala, Mannar, Matale, Matara, Moneragala, Mullativu, Nuwara Eliya, Polonnaruwa, Puttalam, Ratnapura, Trincomalee, Vavuniya; note--the administrative structure may now include 8 provinces (Central, North Central, North Eastern, North Western, Sabaragamuwa, Southern, Uva, and Western) and 25 districts (with Kilinochchi added to the existing districts)

Capital [time series]

Colombo

Constitution [time series]

31 August 1978

Diplomatic representation in the US (Diplomatic representation) [time series]

Ambassador W. Susanta De ALWIS; Chancery at 2148 Wyoming Avenue NW, Washington DC 20008; telephone (202) 483-4025 through 4028; there is a Sri Lankan Consulate in New York; US--Ambassador Marion V. CREEKMORE; Embassy at 210 Galle Road, Colombo 3 (mailing address is P. O. Box 106, Colombo); telephone [94] (1) 548007

Executive branch [time series]

president, prime minister, Cabinet

Flag [time series]

yellow with two panels; the smaller hoist-side panel has two equal vertical bands of green (hoist side) and orange; the other panel is a large dark red rectangle with a yellow lion holding a sword and there is a yellow bo leaf in each corner; the yellow field appears as a border that goes around the entire flag and extends between the two panels

Independence [time series]

4 February 1948 (from UK; formerly Ceylon)

Judicial branch [time series]

Supreme Court Chief of State--President Ranasinghe PREMADASA (since 2 January 1989); Head of Government--Prime Minister Dingiri Banda WIJETUNGE (since 6 March 1989) United National Party (UNP), Ranasinghe Premadasa; Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP), Sirimavo Bandaranaike; Sri Lanka Muslim Congress (SLMC), Mhm. Ashraff; All Ceylon Tamil Congress (ACTC), Kumar Ponnambalam; Mahajana Eksath Peramuna (MEP, or People's United Front), Dinesh Gundawardene; Sri Lanka Mahajana Party (SLMP, or Sri Lanka People's Party), Chandrika Baudaranaike Kumaranatunga; Lanka Sama Samaja Party (LSSP, Lanka Socialist Party/Trotskyite), Colin R. de Silva; Nava Sama Samaja Party (NSSP, or New Socialist Party), Vasudeva Nanayakkara; Tamil United Liberation Front (TULF), leader NA; Communist Party/Moscow (CP/M), K. P. Silva; Communist Party/Beijing (CP/B), N. Shanmugathasan

Legal system [time series]

a highly complex mixture of English common law, Roman-Dutch, Muslim, and customary law; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction

Legislative branch [time series]

unicameral Parliament

Country name (Long-form name) [time series]

Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka

International organization participation (Member of) [time series]

ADB, ANRPC, CCC, Colombo Plan, Commonwealth, ESCAP, FAO, G-77, GATT, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, IDA, IFAD, IFC, ILO, IMF, IMO, INTELSAT, INTERPOL, IPU, IRC, ITU, NAM, SAARC, UN, UNESCO, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO

National holiday [time series]

Independence and National Day, 4 February (1948)

Political parties (Other political or pressure groups) [time series]

Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) and other smaller Tamil separatist groups; Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP or People's Liberation Front); Buddhist clergy; Sinhalese Buddhist lay groups; labor unions

Suffrage [time series]

universal at age 18 President--last held 19 December 1988 (next to be held December 1994); results--Ranasinghe Premadasa (UNP) 50%, Sirimavo Bandaranaike (SLFP) 45%, others 5%; Parliament--last held 15 February 1989 (next to be held by February 1995); results--percent of vote by party NA; seats--(225 total) UNP 125, SLFP 67, others 33

Government type (Type) [time series]

republic

People

Birth rate [time series]

21 births/1,000 population (1990)

Death rate [time series]

6 deaths/1,000 population (1990)

Ethnic groups (Ethnic divisions) [time series]

74% Sinhalese; 18% Tamil; 7% Moor; 1% Burgher, Malay, and Veddha

Infant mortality rate [time series]

31 deaths/1,000 live births (1990)

Labor force [time series]

6,600,000; 45.9% agriculture, 13.3% mining and manufacturing, 12.4% trade and transport, 28.4% services and other (1985 est.)

Languages (Language) [time series]

Sinhala (official); Sinhala and Tamil listed as national languages; Sinhala spoken by about 74% of population, Tamil spoken by about 18%; English commonly used in government and spoken by about 10% of the population

Life expectancy at birth [time series]

68 years male, 72 years female (1990)

Literacy [time series]

87%

Nationality [time series]

noun--Sri Lankan(s); adjective--Sri Lankan

Net migration rate [time series]

NEGL migrants/1,000 population (1990)

Organized labor [time series]

about 33% of labor force, over 50% of which are employed on tea, rubber, and coconut estates

Population [time series]

17,196,436 (July 1990), growth rate 1.5% (1990)

Religions (Religion) [time series]

69% Buddhist, 15% Hindu, 8% Christian, 8% Muslim

Total fertility rate [time series]

2.3 children born/woman (1990)